City and school posts attract small, sometimes lacking field of candidates

Five candidates have filed for the four seats on the Yellow Medicine East School Board ballot, but the Granite Falls City Council election attracted just one candidate for each opening and no candidates filed for the four-year seats on the Clarkfield City Council. The filing period closed at 5 p.m. on Tuesday.

Granite Falls Advocate Tribune

Writer

Posted Aug. 16, 2012 at 9:00 AM
Updated Sep 13, 2012 at 10:20 AM

Posted Aug. 16, 2012 at 9:00 AM
Updated Sep 13, 2012 at 10:20 AM

Five candidates have filed for the four seats on the Yellow Medicine East School Board ballot, but the Granite Falls City Council election attracted just one candidate for each opening and no candidates filed for the four-year seats on the Clarkfield City Council. The filing period closed at 5 p.m. on Tuesday.

Clarkfield

City Council

In Clarkfield, Mayor Gene Kockelman filed for re-election and council member Dave Biermaier filed for the two-year seat that he currently holds. In addition to the mayor's seat, there are three council openings, presently held by Robert Schlenner, Francis Staab and Biermaier. The seats held by both Schlenner and Staab have four-year terms, while the seat held by Biermaier is for two years. Neither Schlenner nor Staab filed for re-election. Their council seats will be presumably be filled with the two highest voter getters among any write-in candidates.

The lone Clarkfield council seat that is not up for re-election is held by first-term councilman Neil Linscheid.

Granite Falls

City Council

Granite Falls Mayor Dave Smiglewski filed for re-election for the four-year mayor's position. Incumbent city council member Joe Fagnano filed for one of the two Ward I seats and newcomer Sarina Otaibi filed for the other Ward I seat. Ward I lies west of the Minnesota River. Incumbent council member Scott Peterson filed for the city-wide at-large council position. All the council seats are four-year terms.

Incumbent Ward I council member Bill Miller is ineligible to file for the post due to his candidacy for the Yellow Medicine County District 2 Commissioner seat.

Not up for re-election until 2014 are the two at-large council seats occupied by Steve Nordaune and DuWayne Galow as well as the single Ward II seat (east Granite Falls) filled by Steve Schaub.

YME School Board

Five candidates have filed for four seats on Yellow Medicine East (YME) School Board. Current YME School Board Chair Grant Velde, who had filed last week has been joined on the ballot by incumbents Steve Zumhofe, Jane Hagert and Tim Opdahl. In addition, Mark Hoeper of rural Granite Falls also filed for a seat on the board. All positions are four-year terms.

YME Board members with two years remaining on their terms are Shelly Weir, Steve Rupp and Dawn Odegard.